Another Life

By

John Riminton.

  You won't find me blowing in the wind as I have spent most of my life in a huge building with big rooms.  Mind you, I did start outside in the beautiful clean air with many others like me.  Then, one day we were all gathered together and taken into the first of those big rooms.  It was awful.  We were laid out on some tickly material and denied water for half a day, which felt like forever.  We were all quite limp when we were taken off for our next  ordeal.

   Can you imagine what it is like to be put, with all your friends, into a great machine and rolled about until you don't know what sort of shape you are in?  When that was over we were put on some shaking table. Some of my friends disappeared then, but I had to go back for more twisting but the second time on the shaking table I fell through a hole.  I think they had pity on us then for the next experience was bliss – laid out on another table which was cool and damp. I wished that could have gone on forever but it was followed by the worst of all – we were cooked in an oven until we were black. It was terrible.

  I don't know what happened next for it was all so confusing.  I do know that I turned grey and got separated from my friends. I  don't know what happened to them but I found myself pushed around by some people and bundled together with others who had suffered the same experiences.  No one seemed to like us and we were shoved into a dark corner.  There, some who had been there before us said that they thought that we might be taken outside to be buried. I couldn't wait – anything to get outside again away from this dreadful building.

  I'm sorry, what was that?  Oh! What am I? I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you at the beginning. My name is Tea Fluff and I am the result of turning beautiful green leaves into black tea.

May 2019